When a hard-drive listing all undercover NATO operative is
out of the hands of British Intelligence and into the hands of cyber villain
Silva; James Bond must resurrect himself from a near death experience in order
to recover the drive, salvage M’s reputation and control a man who wants
ultimate revenge.

From a personal point of view, Daniel Craig is the most
impressive James Bond to date even in the shaky second instalment: Quantum of
Solace. Here Bond is back in fine form in a film specially made to celebrate
the 50th Anniversary of Ian Fleming’s juggernaut series. Having rebooted
the film series away from the campness of the Brosnan era, Skyfall picks up a
while after the first days of a licence to kill in Casino Royale. In this film
he is more of a hurt hero battling with ghosts from his past.

The film opens with an adrenaline laced chase sequence
through a Turkish bazaar. What’s beautiful about this opening is what director
Sam Mendes has described as a “Russian doll” approach. You think it’s a car
chase, which evolves into a bike chase, which morphs into a train chase: and
this happens seamlessly. Praise must be given early on for cinematographer
Roger Deakins who has delivered searing and dramatic visuals; stunning cinematography
would be an understatement.

Sam Mendes has taken up the mammoth challenge of this 23rd
Bond movie with refreshing poise. He has spoken of trying to get a quality plot
cemented to begin with and then to incorporate all the obligatory elements
we expect from a James Bond film. This seems to work better than starting with
necessary fundamentals (the credits sequence, the Bond girls, the exotic
locations, the cars, the villains and the explosions) and trying to fit in
something of a plot around it. There are charming odes to Bond films of yester
year and finally a director has been happy to utilise the breathtaking British
scenery for the majority of the movie: Skyfall is definitely worthy of the 50th
year anniversary.

This movie’s iconic credit sequence is one of the best ones
yet. Craig takes a tumble through morbid animations supplemented by Adele’s
dulcet tones. They definitely cracked it this time. James Bond spends a hour or
so as an unshaven wreck who is out of shape and hitting the bottle. I say “out
of shape” but fear not, Craig’s glistening musculature is not impeded by this. And
rightly so because he has multiple Bond girls to please. Fellow agent Eve
(Noamie Harris) gives a reasonable effort as MI6 sniper and Berenice Marlohe is
utterly beautiful; but Skyfall is most definitely about the men.

Javier Bardem’s villain Silva does not surface until the second
act, but when he does, it is glorious. In a lengthy tracking shot he delivers a
parable about rats which acts as a recurring motif throughout the rest of the
movie, he then probes Bond about his drink, his form, his relationship with M
and even his sexuality in an erotically charged scene. It’s moments like this
where Mendes is at his American-Beauty-best and Daniel Craig shows that subtlety
is his ace. Silva is multifaceted and a highly original creation, a foreigner
with a Nolanesque deformity to boot (echoes of Harvey-two-face anyone?) What’s bracing
is that Silva’s motives are personal, and his way of going about his revenge is
in a very 21st century way.

There’s a wonderful reinvention of Q by Ben Whishaw who
brings youth and humour while reminding us of, quite sinisterly, the damage that
can be done with a computer before breakfast in the wrong hands. The banter
between him and Craig is inspired, another example of Mendes getting the
absolute best out of his actors. As commented by members of our viewing party,
Ralph Feinnes plays it as enigmatically as ever but gets some excellent action
scenes in the third act.

Skyfall provides everything we have come to expect and love
from James Bond, it’s sleek, traditional, thrilling, fun and laden with classic
characters. All in all, if Skyfall was to be the last Bond movie, Sam Mendes
most definitely ends it on a high. However thankfully one thing’s certain, 50 years
in, James Bond will remain on our screens as a Great British icon for many more
years to come.

This movie came on to Sky Premier last week and while movies
of this genre never really float my boat, it was either this or another foreign
language affair and this seemed a bit easier going.

So the premise is as follows: serial dater Ally’s hits a wall
in her life when she realises how all her friends are settling down with lovely
men while she is still going out on meaningless one night stands. She then vows
to make her 20th conquest the man she spends the rest of her life
with, when this goes to pot, Ally is forced to try to rekindle the flame with
her extensive list of ex-boyfriends. This all seems fair enough, but within the
first 5 minutes of this story you will easily
see what will happen in the end. What is the point of that? And that generally
is my issue with romantic comedies, they are sickeningly predictable, save the
occasional curveball such as (500) Days of Summer.

Aside from the horrendous predictability, the film is quite
amusing and entertaining. Chris Evans and Anna Faris are cute, gorgeous and
sassy, everything you want really. The supporting cast is actually very decent:
Martin Freeman, Ali Graynor, Joe McHale and Zachary Quinto all make appearances
to keep you on your toes. Also, the soundtrack is fair. The problem is that
films like this are forgettable and people take little from them, but who says films
have to be memorable and life changing to be watched?

It has been a while since the last Kill Your Darlings update
and while there is still no specific release date for 2013 it does seem like
filming has wrapped. It also seemed like an opportunity to update all you ‘beat
freaks’ out there on everything Beat Generation in film at the moment!

James Franco’s wonderful portrayal as Allen Ginsberg in the
2010 film Howl aired on Sunday night for all us British people. The film illustrates
Ginsberg’s revolutionary poem alongside extracts from the obscenity trail that
ensued. Though by no means a conventional movie, this little film depicts the
poem as a performance and truly does it justice. Here’s the link to where you
can catch or rewatch Howl on BBC iPlayer.

Similarly as you may well know, an adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s
classic novel is also hitting cinemas. On The Road stars Sam Riley, Kristen
Stewart and Garrett Hedlund and tells the story of a young writer’s journey
across the country. Amateur Reviews will endeavour to review the movie at some
point.

Now back to Kill Your Darlings, here are some of the latest
images that have come to our attention and also a link to an interview of
co-star Jack Huston.

Whether it was due to the critical acclaim, or the fact that
Aaron Sorkin was on script writing duties, I really wanted to love this film.
And it was good, but not for the reasons expected. Moneyball doesn’t
necessarily require extensive knowledge of baseball, but unlike the F1
documentary Senna, a bit of prior understanding would probably aide your
viewing.

The film is based on Michael Lewis’ book of the same name
and is an account of Oakland Athletics team’s 2002 season. General Manager
Billy Beane (Pitt) and economist Peter Brand (Hill) are faced with a dire
financial situations and resort to a sabermetric approach to rating and
analysing players. And instead of all the sports movie clichés, this
mathematical approach to picking players is why the film is interesting.
Instead of what you normally expect from a sports movie, Moneyball has a
sophisticated edge and the economic discussions are pretty complex.

Pitt and Hill are fantastic collectively and you get the
impression they are doing dramatically more than trying to be caricatures of
Beane and Brand. What’s more is that the pair of them are pared back and
believable whilst maintaining some of the charm we know and love to make their
characters believable. Together they lend to some comedic moments, both men
manage to incorporate their humour with straight drama which is a delight to
watch.

Moneyball isn’t just about baseball but the storyline with
Beane’s daughter feels a little out of place and less realistic than the rest
of the movie. Also, Moneyball is a lengthy film. Personally I am not opposed to
long films provided they grip from start to finish, but at times found myself
thinking it could have done with a more ruthless edit.

With that said, Moneyball is a recommendation on the grounds
of the interesting aspect of baseball and wonderful acting.

This blog is predominantly known for its film reviews but
the title doesn’t explicitly state that Amateur Reviews is tied to film so it
seemed like time to exploit this!

Wednesday evening, The Ritz, Manchester. The sold-out venue
was buzzing with excitement before the show with fans of the stunning album
Rise Ye Sunken ships. Their debut is a searing labour of love, blood, sweat and
tears and it seems that some journalists wrongly like to focus on the gory
details of the album’s inception. But this band has a social conscience and use
the tragic back story for tremendous powers of good.A lot of other bands should take a leaf out
of We Are Augustines’ book because they have got here against the odds and have
so much to say.

The second the boys came out on stage, the crowd went nuts. It’s
a music cliché to say that bands sound just as good live as they do on a
record, but that comparison was made for
this band. Some may even say they sound even better live! Playing the majority
of the tracks from their glorious debut, with the help of another guitarist and
a stunning brass section, the gig was definitely one to remember. It’s rare to
be part of such a faithful crowd and the band made a connection with the fans
in a spectacular way. We Are Augustines care for the music, the fans, the
performance and that is met with due reverence, adoration and respect. Their
live show is truly a spectacle to behold.

The entire show was one big highlight but Chapel Song, Augustine
and Strange Days stood out as favourites. As well as a piano and vocal rendition of
Philadelphia which was literally awe inducing. The crowd sang every lyric right
back at them and it was tremendously memorable. When Billy sings, it’s like a
torrent of emotion, raw and passionate – voices like that are a rare find. Strong,
soulful and immensely talented: We Are Augustines are a must see for any proper
music fan.

Here is some of my photography from the gig for all those
interested and keep scrolling down for a selection of some of their beautiful
music to get your ears around.